Memories of a River
by Hoshii-chan
Summary: What if Chihiro had looked back when Haku told her not to? As she sinks down in the deep blue waters, she sees a familiar face. Chihiro+Haku.
1. Looking back

My first Spirited Away fic ^^! I hope people enjoy it and you can criticize if you want to. It goes a tiny bit back into the end of the movie. And of course the bit where Chihiro's dad drives away doesn't happen.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. It belongs to Hayao Miyazaki. *sighs*  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"We will meet again, won't we?" a girl with light brown hair which was tied up high in a ponytail asked. A purple band sparkled in her hair.  
  
"Yes." a boy who hand hair down to his chin replied. They were holding each other's hands.  
  
"Promise?" the girl asked wanting to make sure.  
  
"I promise. Now go and don't look back." The girl proceeded down a field of green grass, slowly letting go of the boy's hand. His hand still remained outstretched in front of him even though she had let go.  
  
"Chihiro! We've been looking for you! Don't run off like that again." a woman in her 30s called. Chihiro looked surprise as she skidded down a path. "Oka-san, otto-san, are you alright?" she asked eagerly.  
  
"Of course. Now come on." The woman turned with another man of roughly the same age and walked into a tunnel. Chihiro slowly turned her head, wanting to take a last look at the Spirit World before she would leave it forever. But it lingered. Haku had warned her not to look back.  
  
"But how can I just leave like that?" she thought to herself. "Haku saved me so many times...and I'm not even staying to make sure whether Yubaba sets him free or not. Is that how I'm going to repay him?" She spun round and ran up the hill again.  
  
"No! Chihiro!" the boy shouted. The soft green grass swirled and turned into water, just like it would've been. He flew up and tried to grasp Chihiro's hand as it stretched out but she fell into the water. A whirlpool surrounded her and pulled her down. Chihiro took one last look at the boy staring with frustration before she disappeared into the deep blue water. She swum upwards, desperately trying to get some air but the whirlpool only pulled her deeper down.  
  
Suddenly, an image formed in her mind. An image she had seen many times before. A pink shoe bobbed up and down on a flowing river. She was holding on to something...something very familiar. There were 2 antlers on its head which she grasped tightly onto. And its eyes were an intense bright green. It looked as if there was a human behind them.  
  
"Haku..." she whispered before sinking down into unconsciousness.  
  
I really don't want to end it there but I have to; it'll spoil the next chapter otherwise. I know it's very short but I just wanted to have a go and see if people enjoy it or not. Please review! 


	2. Kohaku River

Wow, this is my second chapter today ^^. It goes a lil before the ending of the previous chapter, where Haku tried to "scoop" Chihiro out of the water.  
  
Silvertress116 - Thank you so much! My first reviewer and on the same day I published! I promise the future chapters will be much longer.  
  
Glitter of a Fallen Angel - It should be quite long...hopefully ^^.  
  
Mika - Lol sorry about the cliffhanger thingy. I'd never used them much so I tried it out ^^.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. It belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Haku slumped down on the ground, watching hopelessly as the whirlpool swirling on the surface of the water gradually dies down. He remembered everything so clearly, how Chihiro's smiling face turned into one filled with terror as she was sucked down into the water. Her hands waved helplessly before they too disappeared from view. And he had failed to grasp onto one of them. Chihiro was gone.  
  
"Chihiro..." he whispered. There was a pricking sensation in his eyes, but he was not going to be defeated like that. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and ran up to Yubaba's headquarters.  
  
"I know that humans aren't supposed to look back when they find a way to leave the spirit world." Haku thought as he ran. "But they're not supposed to die. As much as some spirits hate humans, they don't have the ability to do that. Perhaps I could..."  
  
He burst Yubaba's door open and ran in. She acted as if he wasn't there and calmly carried on writing. "Yubaba," he said. Before he could carry on she cut in. "I know. That stupid human looked back didn't she? I told you humans were weak and measly. Especially that little girl." Haku tried to swallow his anger and remain calm on the surface. He after all needed her help badly. But insulting Chihiro?  
  
"I suppose you want to know what actually happened to her." said Yubaba, taking the words right out of Haku's mouth. "Yes. Is she still alive?" asked Haku eagerly.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes." Yubaba laughed coldly. "But she is trapped in another world. A world where we spirits don't venture into." Before Haku could open his mouth, Yubaba said "No, you cannot go. You still have many years to work off. You can't just expect me to ignore our contract for a human."  
  
"I know." replied Haku. "But before Chihiro left, she gave me something very important."  
  
"How lovely for you." mocked Yubaba. "Get back to work."  
  
"She gave me my real name. Kohaku." Haku said with confidence.  
  
Yubaba's eyes widened. Strands of hair began to fall down from the bun she wore. Fire started burning in her mouth. (A.N. like the part where Haku said Bou was with Zeniba in the movie.) "Be silent! Even if you have discovered your name you are still my apprentice! I took you in when you were lost little river spirit with no home, and this is how you repay me? You still owe me a lot of years at the bathhouse, Haku."  
  
"Kohaku." he corrected calmly.  
  
"I don't care that you know your real name!" she hissed. "You are still mine. I OWN you, Haku. Unless I decide to give you freedom, you are stuck here."  
  
"How long?" he asked. The flames grew bigger in Yubaba's mouth. "What did you say?"  
  
"I said, how long? How many years?" he repeated. He had to help Chihiro. A few years wouldn't matter if he could spend eternity with Chihiro. Yubaba's hair became completely uncontrollable as they wrapped around his body. "You asked how many more years?" her hair becoming tighter with each word. "Eternity!"  
  
There was a sharp pain on the back of Haku's head as darkness surrounded him. The last thing he remembered was the piercing laugh of Yubaba and the words "You will never live until that day, Haku."  
  
Chihiro's steps echoed on the ground below her. She had been walking for ages, simply wandering around this weird place. She had already walked pass a lot of people, each with the same vacant expression and despair in their eyes. She stood out from the rest of the crowd, like something colourful in a black and white film. Everyone else was colourless and transparent, whereas colours flushed in her cheeks and she was solid. They had all forgotten what it was like to be properly alive.  
  
"What am I doing here?" she thought to herself. She knew, deep down that there was a reason for it but she couldn't remember.  
  
"You don't forget what happened. You just can't recall it."  
  
Someone's voice echoed in her head. Who did it belong to? Where had she heard it before? Different images flashed before her eyes but there was no way of fitting them together. She saw a tiny pink shoe bobbing on the waves of a river. A river? Which river?  
  
"I promise. Now go and don't look back."  
  
Don't look back. To what? Why not? Why can't she?  
  
"My mum told me I fell into a river when I was little. I don't even remember but I suddenly did. That river's been filled up now, and there are houses on top. That river's name was...Kohaku River. Your name is Kohaku."  
  
Kohaku River? She saw a dragon. It was long and elegant, with silver scales which glittered in the moonlight. And its eyes...a bright green. She saw Haku. On the bridge...the first time she saw him.  
  
"Haku!" she shouted out.  
  
Deep down in the Aburaya, the boy whose name was called woke up with shock.  
  
What do you think? R+R please! Btw does anyone know what Haku's full name is? I've tried looking it up but they're all spelt in different ways. Someone said his first name was Kohakuwa. *confusion* 


End file.
